When Jesus began traveling with his disciples, how did they support themselves financially?  Did others contribute?

Sincerely,
Keeping The Books

Dear Keeping The Books,

There are three ways that Jesus and His disciples were supported during His ministry.

1. Jesus was a carpenter, just like his foster father Joseph (Matt 13:55), and had worked as such in Nazareth (Mk 6:3).  Jesus didn’t begin preaching until He was thirty-years-old (Lk 3:23).  Since Jesus would have been careful with money (Pr 6:6-8) as a faithful steward (1 Cor 4:2), it is likely that He had some money saved up to live off of.
2. Jesus and His disciples lived off the hospitality of those they preached to.  Jesus even commanded His disciples to take nothing with them when they preached (Mk 6:7-10).
3. Jesus and His disciples were supported by several very faithful women.  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others ministered to the physical needs of Jesus as He preached (Lk 8:1-3).

It just goes to show that God will always care for His people – even when it doesn’t make financial sense to serve Him (Ps 37:25-26).

Our congregation is small, and we have a small Spanish group that meets in the rear of our building on Sundays and on Wednesday evenings.  On Sundays, the group from the back joins us for the invitation song, the taking of the Lord’s Supper, and the closing prayer.  We have an English prayer led and then a Spanish prayer for both the Lord’s Supper and the closing.  It sometimes gets confusing because we do not speak Spanish and vice-versa.  In doing so, many of our congregation are saying, “Amen” to the Spanish prayers; also, sometimes our preacher goes over with his lesson while the Spanish group is waiting patiently, listening to something they do not understand.  My question is: would this be a violation of 1 Corinthians 14:23-33?  It surely is very confusing.  Thank You.

Sincerely,
Bilingual Brouhaha

Dear Bilingual Brouhaha,

The whole point of 1 Corinthians 14 is that things should be done in an orderly fashion.  The Corinthians were shouting over each other instead of taking turns, and Paul said they should keep things to a maximum of two or three speakers who take turns (1 Cor 14:29).  Furthermore, the Corinthians were speaking in multiple languages (miraculously in their case) when no one could understand the language.  Paul condemned this behavior (1 Cor 14:28).  The answer to the problem was to:

1. Speak understandably with meaning and purpose, so that the people listening were able to comprehend what was being taught (1 Cor 14:7-11).
2. Speak one by one and take turns (1 Cor 14:29-32).
3. Let only the men speak (1 Cor 14:34-35).

Now let’s use that criteria to analyze your situation:

1. Everything that is said has meaning and purpose, so that a portion (either English-speaking or Spanish-speaking) of the congregation can comprehend the teaching.  There is a concern over the fact that not everyone can understand everything, but fundamentally, this criteria is being met.
2. From what you have said, all of the speakers are being diligent to take turns and not shout over each other.  There may be ways to improve the organization, but we would be hard-pressed to say that there is no organization already.  Any improvement would be an issue of fine-tuning, not removal of error.
3. You never address women speaking, so we will assume this is also being handled scripturally.

The criteria of the Scriptures is clear, and as long as your congregation remains diligent to stick to those ideals, it will be fine.  We will admit that having two languages in the same congregation can be a little unwieldy, but in truth, this wouldn’t be too uncommon of a circumstance in the first century church.  We would chalk this up to an opportunity to “bear with one another” and show patience as you try to overcome the struggles of the language barrier (Eph 4:2-3).

I love my pets very much, but do they have souls?  Will I see them in heaven?

Sincerely,
Cat Lady

Dear Cat Lady,

Animals have the “breath of life” just like humans do (Gen 2:7, Gen 6:17).  This “breath of life” is also sometimes referred to as the “spirit” of a man or animal (Gen 7:22).  Animals have spirits, and humans have spirits, but humans were also made in the image of God (Gen 1:26).  Our spirit is eternal and will go up to be with the Father, and animal spirits are temporary and will return to the dust of the earth (Eccl 3:21).  God made our spirit of a different caliber than He made those of the animal.  Dogs don’t go to heaven, but we can feel confident that God has decided wisely on this issue like all others.  We may not always understand His reasons, but He always makes good decisions.

I currently work outside of the home, but many of my friends tell me that a christian woman cannot have a job.  Does God say that I have to be a stay-at-home mom?

Sincerely,
Overworked

Dear Overworked,

Being a stay-at-home mom is a job – a very important one – that shouldn’t be neglected.  The Bible never says that a woman can’t work outside the home; in fact, it gives many examples of faithful women working secular jobs.  Lydia was a seller of beautiful fabric (Acts 16:14).  The worthy woman of Proverbs 31 is depicted as buying and selling land (Pr 31:16).  The problem isn’t with women working outside of the home; it is when women neglect their homes and families.

God tells us that older women are to train younger women to be “workers at home”, “love their children”, and “love their husbands” (Tit 2:3-5).  Paul told Timothy that women are to “rule the household” (1 Tim 5:14).  Both of these verses indicate that women play a pivotal and central role in running the home.  As much as men are admonished to provide and lead their families, women are taught to not neglect the sphere of the home and family.  Pr 14:1 says that women should build their homes and invest effort and time into establishing those homes.

If a woman works outside of the home (which is perfectly scriptural), she must make sure that she does not neglect the home.  Proverbs 31 shows us what an important and wonderful job being a wife and a mother can be.  A woman who dedicates herself to her family will be pleasing to God, and her family will rise up and call her “blessed” (Pr 31:28-31).

If I don’t have my child christened, will he go to hell?

Sincerely,
Nervous Mother

Dear Nervous Mother,

All children go to heaven.  David’s son died and went to heaven (2 Sam 12:23).  ‘Christening’, also known as ‘infant baptism’, is nowhere to be found in the Bible.  Children are not baptized; adults are.  Baptism is only for believers (Mk 16:16).  You must be old enough to understand and repent (Acts 2:38).  Infants can neither believe nor repent.  It is adults, men and women, who hear the gospel news and then obey it through baptism (Acts 8:12).  Baptism must be requested by the individual wanting it (Acts 8:36)… babies cannot request baptism.  All babies go to heaven; baptism is for those of us who have grown up, rebelled, sinned, and need our sins removed (Acts 22:16).

You’ve often mention obeying your conscience on this website, but shouldn’t my conscience just conform to whatever the truth is?

Sincerely,
Mind Over Mind

Dear Mind Over Mind,

Your conscience is not a perfect guide, but offending it is not okay either.  Your conscience makes you feel bad when you do what you think is wrong, and it makes you feel good when you do what you think is right.  Notice how we emphasize ‘think’.  Your conscience is your mental guide in all matters moral, but it can be wrong.  Paul had a clear conscience his whole life (Acts 23:1), yet Paul also killed christians (Acts 26:10).  That is because Paul used to think that killing christians was a good thing (Acts 26:9).  “There is a way of a man that seems right, but the end is death” (Pr 14:12).

Your conscience is merely a compass; it will begin to point whatever way your knowledge tells it.  If you think killing christians is a good thing, you will feel good when you kill christians.  If you think killing christians is a bad thing, you will feel bad if you kill them.  Paul followed his conscience his whole life; it was his knowledge that changed.

Many people think they are serving God, but they will be sent to hell on the Day of Judgment (Matt 7:22-23).  Jesus made it clear that many people with clean consciences will end up in hell because their conscience was clear, but their minds and lives were corrupt.  We must fill our minds and lives with the Bible if we want a firm foundation we can trust (Matt 7:24-27).  It is only through God’s Word that we can have salvation; a clear conscience is not enough (Rom 1:16).

Having said that, it is important that we do have a clean conscience.  It is impossible to serve God without one.  Wicked people sear their conscience (1 Tim 4:2).  If you obey your conscience, you may do the wrong thing, but if you don’t obey your conscience, you will ALWAYS do the wrong thing.  If someone believes something is wrong and still does it, they are in for real problems.  It is always a sin to disobey your conscience (Rom 14:23).  A pure conscience is not the only requirement for service to God, but without it… you won’t go anywhere.